VA: Delayed treatment led to cancer deaths

May 22, 2014
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A VA hospital in Mississippi. / Rogelio V. Solis, AP

by Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

by Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

Delays in endoscopy screenings for potential gastrointestinal cancer in 76 veterans treated at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals are linked to 23 deaths, most of them three to four years ago, according to the VA.

The delays occurred at 27 VA hospitals with deaths at 13 of the facilities. The worst record was at the William Jennings Bryan Dorn veterans hospital in Columbia, S.C., where there were 20 cases of delays and six deaths, according to a VA report.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, called the VA review findings "heartbreaking" and said the agency was taking a first step in "rebuilding the trust of the veterans and family members affected by these tragic delays in care."

He complained, however, that VA health officials have not been held accountable for the deaths.

The VA internal review said that the department's consulting process has been redesigned to guard against delays in medical procedures.

The delays and deaths occurred in a system that performed 1.3 million gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures in 2013, the VA says. But an internal report said that, "any adverse incident for a veteran within our care is one too many."

The agency provided no specific dates on when the veterans died, except to note that "most" occurred in 2010 and 2011.

The VA said it has reviewed screening consults going back to 1999 for gastrointestinal endoscopies as well as in six other so-called high-interest medical areas including cardiology, oncology and cardiac catheterization and found no other delays or deaths.